Monday, October 27, 2014

It's a Wicked with Entangled Blog Hop!! Go trick or treating at over 100 fabulous blogs and enter to win a ton of amazing Halloween prizes!

I love Halloween. As a writer who lives a large chunk of my life floating around in other worlds it's a blast to be able to dress up and wallow in a little society-sanctioned make believe for a night :)

I've always loved reading about fantasy worlds. I think the first "other wordly" book I ever read was the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. Up until then I'd only read historicals and historical romances (and books like the Little House on the Prairie series and Sweet Valley High) :D Those dragonriders hooked me though and I started adding more books with a bit of "other" in them.

Once I began writing, I really wanted to delve into those worlds myself, but my first love, historical romance, came first. I have two urban fantasies I'm working on, and one, a love story set amidst a zombie break out, that is currently available through Entangled.

I've got a little taste of Wish Upon a Star for you, and below that is a rafflecopter to win your very own copy! :) Don't forget to scroll to the bottom of this post and check out the linky list of all the Blog Hoppers! You won't want to miss out on all the Halloween Hopping Fun!!

Here's a little taste of Wish Upon a Star:

She wished he would come back into her life…

When Ceri McKinley’s ex-fiancee asks for help collecting his brother’s body, Ceri knows she should refuse. But how can she say no to the man she still loves?

He wished he’d never left her…

If Jason Crickett had known his brother had been turned into the world’s first cyborg zombie, he would never have dragged Ceri along with him. At least they are together again, though from the looks of things, it won’t be for long.

They should have been careful what they wished for…

With five floors of hungry zombies between them and Ceri’s daughter and a bomb ready to go off at any moment, Ceri and Jason will have to put their painful past aside and focus on surviving. If they are very lucky, they might just get everything they wished for.

We stumbled for the far end of the atrium, over to Clearwater Cleo’s, a maze of fish tanks and water-filled walkways that displayed all sorts of gorgeous tropical fish and sea life. The oasis of water beckoned invitingly with the fire licking at our backs. Jason pulled us into the middle of one of the pathways and up a small set of stairs that led to another pathway. He sat me down against a tank of over-sized goldfish. I let out a sigh of relief as I took the weight off my ankle.

Jason pulled his gun and aimed at the tanks below us. He fired several shots into each, shattering the glass and spilling thousands of gallons of water across the floor. I felt bad for the fish that were about to be flash-fried, until I remembered that they’d be blown up when the bombs hit anyway.

The water gushed across the floor, dousing flames and washing away zombies. I leaned my head back against the tank and closed my eyes. Jason sank down beside me and pulled me toward him, pressing a kiss against my temple.

“Are you okay?” he asked, brushing soot and a few burned leaves from my face and hair. The smell of burned plastic and singed hair coated everything. But it could have been worse.

I leaned against him for a moment before trying to push to my feet.

Jason stopped me. “Rest for a minute.” He reached into my backpack and pulled out another bottle of water.

I took it gratefully, gulping down half the bottle before handing it to him to finish off. When he was done, he leaned in again, kissing a drop of water from my lips. His hands cupped my face. “I’m sorry. For everything. All of it. Everything I put you through. These wasted years without you.”

“I’m sorry too.” I pulled away and looked up at him. “If we get through this –”

“When we get through this. Not if.”

I gave him a small smile and nodded, knowing he knew what I wanted to say without having to voice the words. “When we get through this, maybe we can talk. About things.”

He gave me one more lingering kiss. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“But for now,” I said, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead.

“Raincheck?”

“Raincheck.”

“Let’s go get your daughter,” he said, pulling me to my feet.

My heart skipped and I slipped on my backpack with renewed energy. We could do this. With Jason at my side, I could do anything. Even face down a building full of zombies and a few military bombs. Piece of cake.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

At some point, every student must not only learn about different poetic forms, but try their hand at penning a few. It can be daunting, even for those who enjoy poetry.

Following the same plain language, straight forward vein of Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers, So You Have to Write a Poem gives novices an easy-to-read guide with step-by-step processes and fun examples while giving more advanced poets a technical guide to the rules behind all their favorite poetic forms.

Detailed, easy-to-understand instructions and “cheat sheets” that outline the rules for each form of poetry.

And a section with a detailed explanation of how to analyze a poem.

So You Have to Write a Poemis designed to not only help students get through their poetry assignments, but also shows poetic skeptics how to enjoy the act of writing poetry, and gives poetry lovers a chance to learn some classic styles.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and owner, Michelle McLean, is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Michelle McLean with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.